Ghost Recon Online coming soon to Steam Early Access

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Online is headed for Steam Early Access, Ubisoft confirms. The free-to-play third-person shooter launched in August 2012 for Windows PCs and it’s been going through the public beta rounds ever since. That’s going to continue in the Early Access release – which is live in Canada right now, with other territories to follow “this spring,” according to the press release – except it’ll be a whole lot Steam-ier.

“Bringing Ghost Recon Online to Steam has been our goal since the game’s inception,” Ubi producer Corey Facteau said in the announcement. “We took the time necessary to reach a quality level that can go head to head with the best online games available today before releasing on Steam. As the top shooter for gamers who enjoy team gameplay, we have also seen our audience expand to include MOBA fans, who comprise fifty percent of our user base. To ensure a seamless transition to the new platform, we will use Early Access to fine tune the Ghost Recon Online experience before releasing it to the rest of the world.”

The comment about the wide embrace of GRO by MOBA fans is curious, but it makes sense. The small-team focus of the Ghost Recon series and the three-lane layout that many of its multiplayer maps deliver isn’t so far removed from your standard MOBA. It’s just that the gameplay is totally different. Steam Early Access should help widen the exposure. We’ll keep you posted on the US launch once there’s more to share.